French printmaker, one of the most prolific and
successful book illustrators of the late 19th century,
whose exuberant and bizarre fantasy created vast
dreamlike scenes widely emulated by Romantic
academicians.

In 1847 he went to Paris and from 1848 to 1851 produced
weekly lithographic caricatures for the Journal pour
Rire and several albums of lithographs (1847–54). His
later fame rested on his wood-engraved book
illustrations. Employing more than 40 woodcutters, he
produced over 90 illustrated books. Among his finest
were an edition of the Oeuvres de Rabelais (1854), Les
Contes drolatiques of Balzac (1855), thelarge folio
Bible (1866), and the Inferno of Dante (1861). He also
painted many large compositions of a religious or
historical character and had some success as a sculptor;
his work in those media, however, lacks the spontaneous
vivacity of his illustrations.